15 March 2016 - Philippine Consul General to New York Mario L. De Leon, Jr. met with George Helmy, State Director for the Office of US Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, at the Philippine Consulate General in New York to discuss closer Philippine-U.S. community collaboration and activities in the State of New Jersey on March 08.

Also joining them for the meeting was Senator Booker’s Constituent Advocate Dinesh Suryawanshi and National Chairman Atty. JT Mallonga and Region-1 Chair Atty. Merit Salud of the National Federation of Fil-Am Associations (NaFFAA).      

Consul General De Leon discussed the attempts of the Consulate and leading Filipino community leaders in the Tri-State region to engage US legislators in lobbying for the passage of pending legislation which would be beneficial for the Filipino-American community nationwide.  In particular, he mentioned Senate bill 1555 or the Congressional Gold Medal Award for Filipino Veterans of World War II, and emphasized how such a recognition would honor the valor and service of Filipino veterans who now number less than a few thousand still alive in the US. 

Atty. Mallonga conveyed how the Filipino veterans were the only notable minority group not recognized for their contribution to the Allied victory in the Second World War, unlike the Tuskegee Airmen, Japanese Nisei, Puerto Ricans and others who have been honored for their service. 

Consul General De Leon also discussed how there has been an initiative to promote greater awareness of and increase the number of Filipino-American voters for the US general and local elections this year and beyond.  There are currently about 3.4 million total of Filipino-Americans in the U.S., out of which 340,000 reside within the Northeast US region, and 120,000 in New Jersey. 

Thus far, only 23,000 Filipino-Americans within the Tri-State region have registered to vote, according to Atty. Mallonga, and that they were working to further increase voter awareness through increased registration drives throughout the year.   

Consul General De Leon pointed out how Filipino-Americans were in particular among the most visible and active participants in community organizations, as well as in engaging government agencies across the Tri-State region, with NaFFAA and the Filipino-American Legal Defense Fund (FALDEF) being prime examples. 

Atty. Salud informed how NaFAA has been successful in encouraging such Filipino communities in New Jersey as in Bloomfield in organizing themselves, and he reminded how the “Fil-Am Vote” campaign was a shining example of the unique U.S. democratic political system. 

Mr. Helmy in turn remarked how Senator Booker was keenly focused on the ethnic diversity of New Jersey. He observed how the Filipino-American population in the state was well-educated, community-oriented and well integrated into the New Jersey public and effective in reaching out to other minority groups, and therefore Senator Booker was very keen in forging closer ties with the state’s Filipino-Americans.  He further said how trade legislation was a priority for the Senator, and hoped that the state’s ports would soon become hubs for enterprise.  Mr. Suryawanshi, on his part, added that infrastructure and investment were core issues for Senator Booker, as well as the creation of jobs and small businesses. 

Consul General De Leon cited that there were several Filipino-owned small businesses in New Jersey, and how the Consulate had hosted seminars on small-business start-ups with the City of New York.  He further mentioned the ongoing diplomatic row with China on the maritime entitlement issues of the West Philippine Sea, an ongoing concern of the community, and of the pending decision by the International Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague. 

Mr. Helmy and Mr. Suryawanshi promised that they would relay the concerns of the Consul General and the Filipino-American community to Senator Booker himself in forging closer political, economic and cultural ties between the Philippines and the State of New Jersey.

In a meeting with Philippine Ambassador to the US last January, the Consulate General and NaFAA agreed to partner in promoting awareness of voter’s rights in both Philippine and US elections among Fil-Ams and to jointly call on US Representatives and Senators to seek the successful passage of S.1555 and its counterpart House bill H.R. 2737, which are set to expire later this year unless approved by the US Congress. END